Lent : Reflect on societal change

The message of self-denial and restraint resonates well given the multitude of development challenges and social ills that have strangled good governance in the country.

Yesterday, Christians globally started a 40-day period of prayer and fasting, during which they forego items of desire and pleasure, to dedicate themselves to God through unremitting prayer. Christian leaders have said this is a period of combined self-denial and prayer to achieve all-inclusive growth.

For Uganda, this is a right message at the right time. This lent period should not pass like any other event in the year’s calendar. The message of self-denial and restraint resonates well given the multitude of development challenges and social ills that have strangled good governance in the country.

As individuals reflect on their personal relationship with their supreme being, this reflection should extend to how we have individually handled public affairs.

Believers need to ask themselves why in spite of their large percentage in the country, social services like healthcare and education among others continue to decay.

This lent period might also remind us that intolerance of any nature is ungodly, therefore; the 40 days should see our society, and especially the leaders emerge much more renewed and eager to tackle corruption, tribalism, discrimination and political intolerance.

Development challenges are enormous and it can only take the collective spirit of the citizenry to surmount them. This collective spirit can be harnessed only when we transcend individual desires and debauchery.

Lent period offers us this opportunity to soar above triviality and focus on strengthening our spirituality while meeting our day-to-day needs in a fair and just manner. Let a new vanguard in the fight against corruption emerge from this fasting period.

We need to see more people report cases of corruption because some of the corrupt are our own relations. We need to see commitment to work by health workers, teachers, police and judicial officers. We also need to see politicians play a fair game.

Just like it is said in the book of James in the Bible that faith without action is dead, fasting without action is meaningless. The country waits to see the sweet fruits of the Lent period.